Naruto: Clash of Pokémon
by Kasek
Summary: Naruto leaves on a journey to prove that he can be a better Trainer than his father. Can he really do it, though? Note: I'm assuming NaruHina will happen. Maybe SasuSaku. Pokemon AU. Rated to be safe in case I want to be realistic.
1. Leaving Konoha

**Kasek:** I have more ideas for this than my original "Clash of Pokémon" fic (which I got stuck on because I couldn't figure out how to make the story go AT ALL), so I'm deleting that and replacing that with this. Sorry for those who thought it had promise :'(

**Naruto: Clash of Pokémon (Take 2: AU version)**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Pokémon**

Naruto rolled over in bed when the sun shined in his face. "Grr... I want my sleep..."

A voice called from downstairs. "Naruto! I've got breakfast for you! You need to eat up before heading out on your journey!"

The boy contemplated this. Sleep, or food? His stomach growled, and that was the end of that internal debate. He slipped out of bed, and without even bothering to exchange his pajamas for regular clothes (or to even remove his Growlithe-head sleeping cap) he headed downstairs towards the voice.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he was startled to see not one, but _two_ (well, both) of his parents there. His red-haired mother was just putting his father's breakfast on the table, with a 'Here you go, Minato', and his father was reading a newspaper, his blond hair peaking over the top of it. Said man lowered his newspaper and smiled at his wife, gave a quick 'Thank you, Kushina', and turned to his son. "Yo, Naruto. Ready for your big day?"

Naruto gulped. "You... you actually came..."

Minato scratched the back of his head when Kushina glared at him. "Of course I came! This is a very, very big day in your life! I can't miss out on the day my own son becomes a Pokémon Trainer!"

His son appeared to hold back some remark as he sat down at the table and began eating his breakfast- bacon and eggs. Naruto felt his parents staring at him for a bit, and decided to speak up after his third bite. "Why are you guys staring at me?"

His father chuckled. "Well, this might be the last time we get to see you for a while, so we're memorizing what you're like."

Naruto blushed at the comment. "Er..."

Kushina decided to change the subject. "So, what Pokémon do you think you're going to get?"

Her son grinned at the thought. "They're all good choices, but I think... Charmander! Fire's great, and Charizard looks just plain awesome!"

Minato chuckled again. "So, do you plan on becoming a Pokémon trainer as good as me?"

Naruto nodded fiercely at the suggestion, his grin not fading. "Heck yeah! I'm even gonna surpass you, and become a Pokémon Master!"

His mother sighed. "Your father here is considered one of the top trainers in the world, and even he's not a Pokémon Master. What makes you think you can do it?"

Naruto seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Hmm... because! I have Dad's talent plus your talent _combined_!"

Kushina smirked at him. "Oh, really? Well, then, Pokémon Master Naruto Namikaze, you'd better hurry and eat your breakfast if you want to make it to Professor Sarutobi's on time."

--

After saying farewell to his parents at the door (he was forced to hug both of them, which he felt really embarrassed about), Naruto practically ran all the way to the laboratory of Professor Sarutobi, who was handing out Pokémon today. He saw Sasuke Uchiha walking out of the building when he got there, and stopped for a moment to talk to him. "Yo! Sasuke! What Pokémon did you get?"

Sasuke smiled. "Ah, Naruto! My family specializes in Fire-types, so I got Charmander."

Naruto's own smile faltered for a moment. "Ch-Charmander, huh? Yeah, his evolved forms are pretty cool. Congrats!"

The Uchiha boy nodded and began walking away. "It was good to see you one last time. Well, see you down the line, Naruto."

The young Namikaze nodded, said goodbye, and walked into the building. He looked around himself- there were three hallways that branched from here. "Hello? Professor Sarutobi?"

A voice called to him, but it wasn't an old man's. "Hey, Naruto! Good to see you."

Naruto turned to the voice, which came from the hallway to his right. He smiled upon seeing his teacher from school, Iruka Umino. The man was in charge of teaching about Pokémon. "Mr. Iruka! What are you doing here?"

Iruka chuckled at him. "I'm here to see off my students who decided they'd rather go train Pokémon than hang around the school any longer. I guess it's only natural _you'd_ go for it."

Naruto scratched the back of his head just like his father did. "Heh, yeah..."

Another voice called out to him. "Boss! You're here!"

He looked down the opposite hallway, and there stood Konohamaru, Professor Sarutobi's grandson. Naruto grinned as the boy walked over to them. "Hey, Konohamaru! Where's the old man?"

"Who's an old man?" This time it really was Professor Sarutobi, who was walking down the hallway that was straight from the door. "Glad to see you're here, Naruto. However, I'm afraid I'll miss having you around. You were an excellent assistant around the lab."

The Namikaze boy's grin turned into a simple smile. "Heh... thanks, Professor. Maybe you can have Konohamaru take my place?"

Sarutobi looked towards his grandson, who had stars in his eyes at the prospect, and stroked his beard. "Well... if I train him a bit first..."

Konohamaru scowled. "What am I, a Pokémon?"

The other three laughed at that, and then Sarutobi turned and walked down the hallway. "Come along, Naruto. Time to choose your Pokémon."

Naruto eagerly followed, and soon they were in a room with a large table in the middle, with three Pokéballs sticking out of it. Naruto noticed as he circled it that they each had one of three symbols: a flame, a water drop, and a leaf. "Hey, hey! There's still a Pokéball for Charmander here! Does that mean that there's one left?" Naruto quickly grabbed the ball and held it high.

Sarutobi sighed. "Sorry, Naruto... I just like having three Pokéballs on that table at all times. Sasuke took Charmander."

Naruto gave his own sigh of disappointment when he opened the ball and nothing came out. He put the ball back in its slot and moved over to the one with a water drop on it. "Well, then... I guess I choose... Squirtle!" He picked up the ball and opened it, but again there was nothing inside.

The Professor forced a smile. "Oh, and... Hinata took Squirtle."

The young Namikaze paled. "Huh?! But... that only leaves... Bulbasaur..."

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Is there something _wrong_ with Bulbasaur, Naruto?"

Naruto gulped. "Well, uh, it's just that... I dunno, Charizard's a _dragon_, Blastoise has got _cannons_ on its back... and Venusaur is an overgrown lizard with an overgrown flower on its back."

Sarutobi chuckled at the boy's naivety. "Ah, but Grass-types have their uses, you know. Just because they for the most part cannot 'overpower' opponents, does not mean that they do not have their own ways to take out opponents."

The boy sighed before picking up the ball. "Well, if you say so... Bulbasaur, come on out!" he gave the ball a slight toss, and it opened in mid-air, releasing a large amount of red light that collected on the floor and turned into a small reptilian creature with a large flower bulb on its back.

The Professor kneeled next to the creature. "Bulbasaur, this is your new trainer, Naruto Namikaze. Take good care of him, alright?"

Bulbasaur grinned, and Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm the Trainer, shouldn't I be taking care of him?" The Bulbasaur glared at him, and then jumped up on the table and continued doing so. Naruto lowered his head to its level so they were eye to eye. They glared at each other for nearly a minute before Bulbasaur blinked. Naruto grinned and blinked rapidly to get his eyes back in proper form. "Ha! You blinked first!"

The small Pokémon growled, and muttered under its breath. Naruto turned to the others. "Well, I'll be seeing you later!"

After they saw him off, the Professor giving Naruto the necessary gear for a Pokemon Trainer, Naruto eventually found his way to the outskirts of town. He looked back at the town as he stood on the boundary line. "Goodbye, Konoha... hello, world!"

**Kasek: **I couldn't decide whether to go with an original land or Kanto, but it will be an original land.

Notes:

Sasuke is NOT EMO. Take note of this!!!

Naruto will not be the hopeless trainer you normally see in Pokémon/Naruto fics. He will still be somewhat naive, though.

I'm guessing this is gonna lean towards NaruHina, if you didn't see the summary.

Future chapters ought to be longer!


	2. Arrival in Nami

**Kasek: **Yey, chapter 2! You get to see more of what this country is like and stuff.

To Miner49er: Interesting ideas, but... I don't plan on making teams entirely ninja-based. Only one or two characters will have the honor of 'ninja-fying' their Pokémon. And I don't see why Hinata should have a Growlithe and a Beedrill when Kiba and Shino are more than likely showing up in this story themselves (sorry if you didn't mean it that way, but I saw their inclusion on your/her team as a tribute to them). And as for Magikarp... well, you'll see.

Note: This takes place in the same world as the Pokémon anime, I guess, so there will be Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys.

**Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Pokémon.**

Naruto sighed as he walked along the path to the seaside town of Nami, which was the closest town to Konoha. He frowned- he still hadn't seen any wild Pokémon he could fight with Bulbasaur. Not to say he hadn't seen Pokémon- he had seen a couple of Taillows, and even a Spearow- but he knew that Grass and Flying types did not mix- well, okay, they did, but on most occasions it was a bad thing for the Grass Type.

He nearly burst out giggling when he finally saw a viable target- a Sentret. The big-tailed Pokémon was standing on said tail, and had its back turned to him. Naruto smirked as he drew out his Pokéball and tossed it into the air. "Bulbasaur, Tackle that Sentret, now!"

Bulbasaur came out of its ball, and glared at its owner before doing what it was told. The Sentret turned around, and rolled out of the way of the tackle. Before Naruto cold say anything else, it ran off into the grass, vanishing from site. Naruto sighed as he scratched the back of his head with his left hand. "Well, that went... well. You feel like walking or do you want to go back in the Pokéball?"

Bulbasaur sat down, which was an indication that it wasn't walking anytime soon. Naruto sighed again, and pointed the ball at his Pokémon. "Bulbasaur, return." As the Pokémon was hit by the red beam of light that emanated from the ball and became light itself, Naruto thought about something that he had always wondered about- How did the darn things fit inside Pokéballs anyways? And why did the ball always return to the trainer after it opened and released its Pokémon? He shrugged his shoulders- some things just weren't to be known by lesser beings.

After a while, he found himself in Nami, which was only a little more populated than Konoha. The houses weren't as few and far between here, though they were a lot smaller on average- Konoha was mostly a town for well-to-do families. He breathed in the smell of the shore- he loved that smell. His mother would often bring him here during the summers to go swimming. His favorite summer had been when his father had joined in as well.

As he passed through the town, he heard a voice call him over. "Hey! Naruto!"

Naruto grinned- he knew that voice. He turned, and saw a man wearing a fisherman's garb, with a white rope tied around his head. "Kaiza! Long time no see!"

Kaiza nodded. "Ah, good to see you. I heard from your mom that you're on your Pokémon journey, huh?"

The blond boy nodded. "Yep! Though, so far I haven't been able to catch any Pokémon... the route here only had Flying-types, and a Sentret that ran as soon as I tried to attack it..."

The man chuckled. "Well, if it's Pokémon you need to fight, why don't you try fishing for one?"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

--

Naruto stared intently at the water as he gripped the old fishing rod in his hands that Kaiza had given him. It was a very primitive rod- just a stick with a string with a hook. Inari, Kaiza's 'son' (Kaiza was Inari's step-father, but Inari had never known his real father), sat by him on the dock, staring into the water. "So, you still think you're going to catch any Pokémon like this, Naruto? It's been a while since you started."

Naruto sighed. "I don't know... but it's always worth a try. If I get a super strong Pokémon, then it will all be worth it!"

Inari glanced at the older boy. "Yeah, but... would you be able to catch a super strong Pokémon? You just started out, right?"

The blond shrugged his shoulders. "Well, either way, a Water-type would be a good asset to my team. If only I could get my hands on a Fire-type..." He decided to look around himself, and noticed what looked like a large bridge being built in the distance. "Hey, what's with that bridge? That wasn't here last summer."

The younger boy smiled. "Ah, Grandpa's building a bridge from here to Mizu! It'll be a while before its complete, but once its done people can just walk or drive there instead of taking the boat."

After a few more moments, Naruto felt a tug on the rod. "Aha! Great Water-type Pokémon, here I come!" He pulled on the rod as hard as he could, and a shape emerged from the water, flew over their heads, and landed on the dock behind them.

Naruto turned to face the creature. It was a large, red fish Pokémon with yellow fins and white whiskers. It seemed to be glaring at him as it flopped on the deck. "That's a.... Magikarp, right? I've seen them for sale in the fish market..."

Inari nodded. "Yeah, but... I don't know how good they are for battling..."

The older boy took out Bulbasaur's Pokéball and threw it, releasing his own Pokémon in a burst of white light. "Bulbasaur, use Tackle on that Magikarp!"

Bulbasaur glanced at his Trainer before sighing and charging the fish, which was giving a lame flop on the deck every few seconds. However, just before Bulbasaur reached it, it seemed to tense, and with one great push of its tail it jumped high into the air. Bulbasaur stopped right where the Magikarp had been, and looked straight up at the figure. Naruto realized what was about to happen. "Bulbasaur, move it before it lands!"

The Grass-type complied by jumping backwards, and The Magikarp landed with a loud thud on the deck. Naruto smirked at it. "That wasn't so bad..." The Magikarp gave another push off of the deck, and instead of launching straight up it launched straight at Bulbasaur, ramming into it with a lot of force. Bulbasaur was sent tumbling backwards, and as the Magikarp flopped back into place, Bulbasaur rubbed its forehead with a prehensile ine that came out from under its bulb.

"Bulba Bulba..."

Something seemed to click in Naruto's mind. "Hey! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on that Magikarp now!"

Bulbasaur nodded, and the vine lengthened and lashed out at the Magikarp, striking it with a loud crack. It shuddered for a moment before becoming still. Naruto smirked, and took out an empty Pokéball and threw it at the Magikarp. After the ball hit it straight on, the ball opened up and in a flash of light the Magikarp was inside of it. The ball wiggled for a few moments as the button glowed red, but then the light faded and a loud 'ding' was heard.

Naruto chuckled at his victory. "Yes! We did it, Bulbasaur! We caught a Magikarp!"

Inari didn't seem too impressed. "You took it out in one hit, do you really think it's going to be useful in battle?"

The blond scratched the back of his head. "Well, Vine Whip IS super effective against Water-types... and Bulbasaur's probably pretty strong, too. I'm not too worried."

Bulbasaur grinned at his Trainer. "Bulba! Bulbasaur!"

Naruto smirked at his Pokémon. "Alright! Now, let's stop at the Pokémon Center, and then we can be on our way! See ya around, Inari!"

--

When Naruto arrived at the Center, he was surprised to see a girl from Konoha- Hinata- inside sitting on a couch. There were a couple of other Trainers waiting around, as well. "Hinata? I would've thought you would be long gone by now..."

She blushed, and looked down at her feet. "Ah... I've been hanging around a bit, training my Squirtle and my Taillow before heading out..."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I need to train a bit, too... so you caught a Taillow, huh? I had to stay away from them because of the type-disadvantage."

Hinata tried to look him in the eyes, but ended looking at his smooth cheeks instead. "Y-yeah... do you have a second Pokémon yet?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a Magikarp."

A nearby trainer laughed. "A Magikarp? Those things are useless!"

Naruto glared at the person- he was a silver-haired youth, not too much older than Naruto, wearing a muscle shirt and white pants, as well as a couple of water-bottles attached to his belt in addition to his Pokéballs. "And what would you know?"

The boy chuckled. "Plenty, considering I'm a Water-type trainer. Trust me, the only attacks they ever learn are Splash, Tackle, and Flail. You should've at least tried for a Feebas, they're marginally better; you can teach them something cool for show like Dragonbreath."

The blond growled. "I'll have you know this Magikarp put up a good fight. It jumped like ten feet into the air to dodge a Tackle from my Bulbasaur!"

The other boy shrugged his shoulders. "They do that sometimes. Arceus knows why."

Naruto snorted, but decided to check something. He took out his Pokédex and flipped it open, and went to the 'Pokémon Owned' section. It spoke up in a generically male voice. "Magikarp: The Fish Pokémon. Magikarp were once very powerful, but they have since weakened to the point that they are now considered the weakest Pokémon in the world. No one knows how they continue to survive."

He frowned. "Well, I'll make my Magikarp strong! Just you wait!"

The other trainer smirked to himself. "Well, I hear that Magikarp that get strong can tend to be very... unruly. You sure you can handle that?"

Naruto pumped his fist. "I can't become a Pokémon Master if I can't tame a fish!"

The silver-haired boy chuckled at Naruto's antics. "That's the spirit! We'll see if that attitude holds up. Well, I gotta go now. See ya later, future Pokémon Master." The boy got up off the couch, and walked out the front door.

Naruto watched him go, and then turned back to Hinata. "I'll be right back, I've got to hand in my Pokémon."

She nodded, and watched him go up to Nurse Joy and hand in his Pokéballs. She smiled as he carfully put the Pokéballs in the tray, and she then looked away when he turned around and walked back over. He sat down right next to her and leaned into the couch. "Geez, sitting at that dock waiting for a Pokémon to bite took more energy than I thought it would... so, what are you planning on doing on your journey, Hinata?"

Hinata looked down at her feet. "Well... my family wants me to be a competitor in the Pokémon League, but I..." She looked Nauto in the eye and smiled. "I want to be a Coordinator."

The blond smiled back at her. "I think that's great! To tell you the truth, I want to try out being a Coordinator one day, myself. Don't think I'll do it as my main gig, but maybe participate in a contest here and there. I've seen them before, and some of the stuff that they pull would make awesome moves to use in the Pokémon League. I say you can't be a Pokémon Master if you can't come up with your own combos like Coordinators do."

Hinata blushed. "Th-thanks, Naruto..."

Nurse Joy called out to them. "Naruto Namikaze, Hinata Hyuuga, your Pokémon are all healed up."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That was fast..." He froze when he felt that all eyes were on him. He heard some whispers from his right.

"Namikaze? You don't think he's the son of Minato Namikaze, do you?"

The young Namikaze gulped, and quickly made his way to the counter and picked up the two Pokéballs offered to him. "Th-thank you, have a nice day!" He was about to dash out the door, but when he turned around Hinata was right in front of him.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

Naruto sighed. "Look, I just want to get out of here, alright? See you later, Hinata." He walked around her as fast as he could without running, and Hinata stared after him for a moment before quickly picking up her own Pokémon with a hurried 'thank you' and chased after him.

Naruto had already passed a building when he heard Hinata catch up to him, and he turned to look at her. "Hinata?"

Hinata blushed as she composed herself. "Well, um... you see... I was wondering... if you wouldn't mind... could I... travel with you?"

Naruto tilted his head. "Eh? You mean be traveling companions?" She nodded. He tilted his head as he seemed to think it over for a minute. "Eh, why not. The more the merrier!"

She smiled. "Ah... thank you. I'll try my best not to be a burden."

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, you won't! Now then..." He pointed off into the distance dramatically. "Off to...! ...Where are we going?"

Hinata giggled at his behavior. "Iwa, we're going to Iwa next."

Naruto nodded. "Right! Off to Iwa!"

--

**Kasek: **You didn't hear it from me, but Hinata waited around specifically to ask Naruto if they could travel together. She still has a major crush on him, though this Naruto isn't exactly the same as the one back in canon. Also, she doesn't have as many issues as she does in canon. Just a bit shy here. ALSO. REAL SORRY that her joining him is lame and sounds forced.

Also, Naruto does not have whiskers. I can think of a reason why he would have them, but I think I'll make that later into the story than pre-story. Naruto has a different 'bad past' than in canon for obvious reasons (I mean, really, you can't expect me to say a demon Ninetails got sealed into him or something like a human Pokéball... right?)

Bonus points for the first person to tell me who the 'silver-haired youth' is. Shouldn't be that hard for anyone who's read far enough into the manga.

Hrm... this fic seem more... childish than my norm already. Guess Pokémon does that XD I'll try to get more serious! Maybe?

Lastly, I want to know what you guys think. Should they go through a forest (they ARE near Konoha), a regular route, or a cave next? .....I think I'll go for a forest..... all the forests are near the beginning of the game. Also, whether it's intentional or not there are already parallels between this land and Kanto. Meh...


End file.
